Arriving in Delhi

New Delhi Travel Blog

My first â€˜wowâ€™ moment did not come in when I saw how locals dress, how they speak, or what they eatâ€¦.but...how they drive. The moment we got into a car after arriving in India and joined other drivers on the highways of Delhi I was surprised to see that driving here had its own separate culture.

It is not that people drove on the left, or that on some of the streets there were more rickshaws and tuktuks than actual cars, nor was it the traffic that at many moments seemed much larger than what I am used to in New York City - it was the substitution of signal lights and signaling all together for the sound of horns. Those sounds were all around us like a symphony without a conductor. And than it hit me - I am in a totally different â€˜worldâ€™ and I love it.

Drivers did not obey the road rules (not that there were many signs or lights), they moved from left to right as they please - cutting in front of you nearly every second. In New York I would probably get frustrated right away - and who knows maybe even shout couple of things at the driver who nearly pushed me out of the way, but not here. Although there we no rules, no signaling, and at times pure chaos - the constant horn sounds (some very much customized like the ring tones in a cellphone) did the magic. The drive was exceptionally smooth, everyone relaxed - for my entire trip in India I did not see even one car accident on the roads.

But it made me wander - why do people in India not use the signals? Is it because they have better hearing? Is it because the roads are so condensed and everyone is so close to each other that it would be harder to see the light than to hear a beep? Anyways it worked pretty well.

Red Fort

Soâ€¦.Before joining the Gap adventure trip my sister and I had couple of chances to get lost in the new city - and I mean it literally. We recognized couple of places from the movies, went to the Red Fort, wandered around local markets, streets, and temples. Than, after a very long introduction to our tripâ€™s itinerary conducted by our amazing tour guide to be, we set of to see the Connaught Place and India Gate - which made me feel like Iâ€™m back in Washington Square Park. And as I soon learned our group of 15 travellers :) were composed of really awesome people from UK, USA, Israel, Canada, and of course India. Next morning, very early in the morning at 6:00am (which is good taking into account the heat of the day)â€¦.so yeyâ€¦it was off to Jaipur in a Shatabdi train - 4 hours of fun.